What is a Marriage Contract?

What is a Marriage Contract? Divorce Lawyer in Izmir

The marital property agreement, commonly known as a prenuptial agreement, is a formal family law contract that regulates how couples planning to marry, or already married couples, will manage their assets during and after marriage, what their rights and obligations will be regarding the marital property regime, and how assets will be liquidated upon dissolution. As the definition suggests, this agreement can be made before or after marriage.

What are the limits of a prenuptial agreement?

The principle of freedom of contract exists in our legal system. This means that parties can enter into contracts on any subject and in any way they wish. However, there are certain limitations to this.

These limits Turkish Code of Obligations’In our article, "The subject of the contract is;

• It cannot be contrary to the mandatory provisions of the law.,
• It cannot be contrary to public order,
• It cannot violate personal rights.
• The subject matter of the contract cannot be impossible.

It has been decided.

Therefore, even if the parties have drawn up a contract through a lawyer, if it contains provisions that contradict mandatory legal provisions or if the subject matter of the contract is impossible, then the contract is invalid. It cannot be enforced. For example, a marriage contract cannot include provisions that violate personal rights, such as "The parties shall never have children," or "They shall not consume alcohol after marriage. If alcohol is consumed, it shall be considered grounds for divorce for the other spouse, and the spouse who consumes alcohol shall pay compensation to the other spouse.".

What are the Validity Requirements of a Marriage Contract?

A marriage contract, provided it does not contain any provisions contrary to the law listed above, is prepared in detail by a lawyer, taking into account the parties' requests and their personal assets and claims, and becomes valid upon notarization of this prepared contract.

A prenuptial agreement can be made before or after the marriage. If the marriage is ongoing, the prenuptial agreement, notarized by the spouses, will become effective from the date of notarization. If it is made before the marriage, the effective date of the prenuptial agreement is the date of the official marriage ceremony.

Which Property Regime Can Be Chosen?

The Turkish legal system includes four different property regimes. The Community Property Regime is recognized as the statutory property regime. This means that if spouses did not declare which property regime they would choose when they married, or did not sign a contract regarding other property regimes, they are subject to the community property regime by law. Therefore, it can be said that there is no need to draw up a contract for the community property regime.

Community Property Regime: This regime, also known as the statutory property regime, stipulates that spouses will equally divide the assets they have acquired through their money and labor during the marriage upon its dissolution. (Unless the spouses have entered into a contract or chosen another property regime, the community property regime applies to the assets between them.)

· Separation of Property Regime: According to this regime, which states that spouses' assets are separate, each spouse's property belongs to them individually, and there is no division of property.

· Separation of Shared Property: This is a type of property regime where spouses who have the right to dispose of their own property also have a joint right to share property whose ownership is unclear.

· Community Property: In this property regime, which has two different types of property, there are the spouses' own property and joint property. The spouses have the right to dispose of joint property acquired together during their marriage as a whole.

What are personal belongings? Can personal belongings be included in a marriage contract?

Article 220 of the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721, titled "Personal Property According to the Law" – The following are considered personal property according to the law:

1. Items intended solely for the personal use of one spouse,
2. Assets belonging to one of the spouses at the beginning of the matrimonial property regime, or assets acquired by one spouse later through inheritance or any other gratuitous means,
3. Claims for moral damages,
4. Values that replace personal property.

Spouses may agree, through a marital property agreement, that assets acquired through the practice of a profession or the operation of a business, which should be included in acquired property, shall be considered personal property. Spouses may also agree, through a marital property agreement, that the income from personal property shall not be included in acquired property.

For detailed information and to ensure a smooth contract process, please contact us. Contact page.

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